Barbara Buono
| spouse = Dr. Martin Gizzi | party = Democratic | alma_mater = B.A. Montclair State University (Political Science) J.D. Rutgers University | occupation = Legislator | residence = Metuchen, New Jersey | website = Legislative web page}} Barbara Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 2002, where she represents the 18th Legislative District. Before entering the Senate, Buono served in the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the General Assembly, from 1994 to 2001, where she served as the Minority Parliamentarian. In the Assembly, Buono became the ranking Democrat on the Assembly Budget Committee. She was Democratic Conference Chair from 2004 to 2007. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate]], succeeding Stephen M. Sweeney. She began her career as a criminal trial attorney for the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate and later entered private practice. Buono served on the Metuchen Borough Council from 1993 to 1994. While the Metuchen Police Commissioner, She worked to increase safety in suburban neighborhoods and instituted Metuchen's community policing program. Buono served in the Senate on the Budget and Appropriations Committee (as Chair), the Intergovernmental Relations Commission and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee. She was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. At the beginning of the 2010 session, Senator Buono became the first woman to be elected Majority Leader of the New Jersey State Senate. She held the position through the end of the 2011 session, when she was pushed out by party elders. Buono has authored New Jersey's "Anti-Bullying Law" which requires school districts to implement anti-harassment and bullying prevention policies to make schools safer for children.Cyberbullying, New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Protection. Accessed October 20, 2007. "In NJ, Barbara Buono, the state legislator who helped create and pass NJ's anti-bullying law, has proposed a cyberbullying law, not yet passed: it would extend NJ's existing anti-bullying law to this new form." She was also the prime sponsor of consumer protection measures restricting telemarketing by creating the most stringent "Do Not Call" database legislation in the nation."Governor signs anti-telemarketing bill into law", North Brunswick Sentinel, May 29, 2003. "A bill sponsored by Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18) that gives New Jersey the strongest anti-telemarketing legislation in the nation was signed into law by Gov. James McGreevey May 21." Senator Buono is also the prime sponsor of the law prohibiting the practice of predatory lending, in which lenders issue loans with hidden costs and excessive fees to homeowners, eroding their financial security and putting their homes at risk. Buono received a B.A. in 1975 from Montclair State College in Political Science and was awarded a J.D. in 1979 from the Rutgers School of Law-Camden.Senator Buono's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 20, 2008. She was born in Newark, New Jersey, and currently resides in Metuchen.Senator Barbara A. Buono, Project Vote Smart. Accessed September 20, 2007. District 18 Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 18th District for the 2012-2013 Legislative Session are:http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp Legislative Roster2012-2013 Session], New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 7, 2012. *Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes III (D) *Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan (D) Election history References External links *Senator Buono's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature *Senator Buono's political web page *''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms'' **2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 *New Jersey Senate Democrats Website Biography Category:Living people Category:1953 births Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Majority Leaders of the New Jersey Senate Category:Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Category:Montclair State University alumni Category:New Jersey city council members Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:New Jersey State Senators Category:People from Metuchen, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Category:Women state legislators in New Jersey